Optical characterization of asphalt mixtures improved with photocalytics

Abstract

In this communication the optical characterization of asphalt mixture improved by the incorporation of photocatalytic semiconductors is addressed. Road pavements must have the ability to resist the effects of climate and vehicle traffic ensuring safety comfort and economy with low environmental impact. The incorporation of photocatalytic into the asphalt gives it an extra ability to reduce the amount of important pollutants in air. The photocatalytic performance is evaluated by optical analysis using spectrophotometry, namely UV/visible diffuse reflectance and absorbance spectroscopies, allowing the calculation of the semiconductors’ band gap and to analyze the photocatalytic activity by a dye degradation. Optical microtopographic inspection of the photocatalytic asphalt mixtures is performed to evaluate skid resistance of the pavements.